"Thai police entered a scandal-hit Buddhist temple on Thursday to search for a monk wanted over a multi-million-dollar scam, in a saga highlighting a split over the nation's faith.

The sweep of the powerful and ultra-rich Wat Dhammakaya temple on Bangkok's outskirts comes after Thailand's junta chief invoked special powers to put its sprawling 1,000-acre compound under military control.

The junta is desperate to avoid clashes with clergy and previous attempts to raid the temple were thwarted after thousands of devotees showed up to defend Phra Dhammachayo, the septuagenarian monk who founded the breakaway Buddhist order in 1970.

The former abbot is believed to be holed up inside the temple, which is famous for its space-age architecture, but has not been seen in public for months.

Police have issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of money laundering and accepting embezzled funds worth 1.2 billion baht ($33 million) from the jailed owner of a cooperative bank. ..."

I know it's easy in hindsight, but I remember warning people on this forum about this guy's antics about 9 years ago (unfortunately I can't find the post).

He sent out his disciples all over the world. My encounter was with the Swindon disciples. Thai women from all over the area went to meet this guy at a local community centre, and being Thai, spent all morning cooking for him. I was there as driver, but sat in a side room.

They did the usual temple stuff, but then it happened.........................

The monk went from Thai to Thai, did a quick mental assessment of their wealth (or lack of it) and told them how much money they had to bring to the next meeting. My wife was assessed at £250.

I was furious, and told her no way, and we weren't going to this meeting again. However, many were taken in, and I know one lady who sold all of her gold (over £40K) to give to this guy, over a period of time. Another who was dying, and donated her house to the fund to ensure a better afterlife.

These disciples were nothing to do with religion, and were collecting money for the sake of collecting money. They had a newsletter, which showed people from all over the world giving up their possessions. I just find it hard to believe that so many were taken in by this guy's disciples. They may be gunning for the main man, but his accomplices are worldwide.

All religions prey on the most vulnerable in society. Trust is belief in something through demonstrable evidence, while faith is belief in something without demonstrable evidence.

More vulnerable people are more likely to be influenced by the make-believe peddled by the world's religions. Whether it's the widow each Sunday giving her meagre tithe or a young man blowing himself up in a crowded market, they are all being exploited for someone else's worldly gain.

PATHUM THANI -- A senior monk who supervised Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s computer centre for 30 years, says the wanted former abbot fled in a car on Thursday when authorities launched their latest raid on the temple.

Phra Thammasak said Phra Dhammajayo had not gone far because he was too ill to travel.

In a media briefing held at the temple's Gate 5 on Sunday, Phra Thammasak said Phra Dhammajayo was hiding somewhere nearby and he could show the press and authorities the abbot's escape route.

The monk said he wanted to reveal the information to the public because he felt uncomfortable with the temple’s executives after attending a meeting with them on Saturday night about how to respond to the latest raid.

Phra Thammasak said he made an audio recording of the meeting but was not ready to release it yet.
“Most monks have never even seen Phra Dhammajayo. Only the top five senior monks have,” he said.

"After I’ve revealed this information I will have to get away from this place."

After the media briefing, Phra Thammasak was escorted to Khlong Luang police station to be questioned about Phra Dhammajayo’s whereabouts.

DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang earlier issued a summons for 14 senior monks of the temple to report to him at Region 1 Border Patrol Police Bureau in Khlong Luang district at 6pm. None of them had turned up by 8pm.

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!

Aside from the ridiculous situation of the army fighting Buddhist monks, or vice versa, this was and should have remained a civil and not military issue.

The army fighting monks will not go down well in the international press and is a PR disaster in the making.

It can't be so difficult to track down one ailing abbot. If it is, what chance do they have in tracking criminals or terrorists?

It would appear that the police were either incapable or unwilling to take the necessary actions and it appears that the government (Thai military) is so far, unable or unwilling to compel/force the police to do its duty. This in general terms remains a far bigger issue to most Thais.

"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain

PATHUM THANI -- A senior monk who supervised Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s computer centre for 30 years, says the wanted former abbot fled in a car on Thursday when authorities launched their latest raid on the temple.

I read elsewhere that he had fled the country a couple of months ago - which sounds more plausible. He's got the contacts and the means to disappear wherever he wants. He's obviously guilty of massive fraud, and doesn't want his followers to know that he's jumped ship.

The wonderful BIB gave him plenty of warning that they were after him. Did they really expect to find him holed up in some underground bunker?

He (the errant monk) has probably already done a runner....probably to the US or somewhere with a big stash of cash and long gone.

I doubt very much he will face anything resembling justice and he probably couldn't care less about the scary prospect of being defrocked......lol.

The tenticles of this cult spread far beyond the UFO temple in the news and even Thailand.

Dream on DSI and all you fools that tried to make this happen in a very public soap opera type of way.

Ironic how other protests like against the coal power plant or a few students getting idealistic are quashed so quickly and convincingly...only for worse criminals hiding in orange robes to be handled with kid gloves so obviously in a lame way.....bordering on the painful. They must think everyone is stupid.

It's like the demolishing of the old forts in Bangkok where people live....follow the money and you will find those who are the ones who need arresting that are also cynically pulling the strings. Same with this silly temple.......follow the money to who is supporting them and bring them in...they are the ones who need reeling in.

Guess though....the answers to that might be too disturbing for the powers that be to act on.

Don't read beauty magazines...they will only make you feel ugly - Baz Lerman

PATHUM THANI -- A shot was fired from the compound of Wat Phra Dhammakaya on Thursday, striking a patrolling army vehicle, but causing no injuries.

Hundreds of officials were ordered to clear gate 4 of the temple to allow police to investigate the shooting, but they were met by a wave of monks and followers in a brief skirmish that left one official slightly injured.

Staff of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) accompanied by a company each of soldiers and riot police from Sing Buri province tried to break through Gate 4 at about 1.30pm. Some officials brought a bolt cutter to open the locked gate near the Khlong Sam canal.

About 200 monks and followers of the temple then confronted the officials and that led to a minor clash that lasted about 30 minutes.

The officials retreated briefly and a DSI official was found to have suffered a cut to his neck.

Some military officers then sought negotiations and approached the monks and followers who were chanting prayers at high volume through loudspeakers on the bridge across the canal.

Later DSI officials, soldiers and riot police moved back to about 200 metres from the line of monks and followers.
The DSI said the patrol vehicle was hit by a bullet on a local road near the gate in the morning and the windshield was cracked.

Officials said the crack was the size of a 10-baht coin and was caused by a fairly high velocity projectile, possibly a metal bullet from an air gun.

Authorities wanted to check the bridge where temple followers set up containers and awnings to block aerial surveillance.
Temple followers refused to withdraw and pull down the awnings or let officials inspect the bridge, DSI said.
.....................................................................
The report on Farce Book quoting a senior officer as saying he wished they had the Submarine already so they could sneak up the Khlong Sam canal, has been denied as a malicious rumor.

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!

BANGKOK – It's more than eight times bigger than Vatican City and twice the size of Cambodia's ancient Angkor Wat, making it quite possibly the world's biggest religious complex. Yet few non-Buddhists have heard of Wat Dhammakaya, a sprawling, extravagant temple compound north of Bangkok that has been at the center of a high-profile power struggle between monks and Thailand's ruling military.

A gilded golden dome glimmers at the compound's center, appearing to hover UFO-like over meditation grounds large enough to accommodate a million Dhammakaya devotees hailing from more than 30 countries. Its 15-story globe-shaped office, called the "U.N. of Buddhism" by followers, features an assembly hall to convene thousands of Buddhists.

For nearly a month, the temple was under siege by more than 3,000 troops and police officers. Police had sought to arrest the temple's abbot, Luang Por Dhammajayo, who's wanted on money-laundering charges. It's a complicated case involving money and politics, and observers say its outcome could shape the future of Thailand. ..."